Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 (MILWAUKEE, Wis., Jan. 26)—The McKendree University men's volleyball team wrapped up its first weekend of play with a pair of losses in a tri-match at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The Bearcats lost both contests in four sets, falling to the host Raiders before ending the day with a defeat at the hands of Dominican University.
 
McKendree is now 1-4 on the year and will make its home debut on Tuesday when it plays host to Missouri Baptist University. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
 
Freshman outside hitter Mike Polizzi paced McKendree with 20 kills on the day, including 11 in the first match against Milwaukee Engineering. Freshman middle blocker Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) collected 17 assists, with 12 coming in the Dominican contest. Freshman setter Jack MacLean had 71 assists over the two matches, while freshman right-side hitter Eric Abrolat (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) notched nine assisted blocks for the Bearcats.
 
Against Milwaukee Engineering, the Bearcats tried to rally from a two-set deficit by defeating the Raiders in set three. But the hosts were able to hold off a McKendree rally in the fourth set to take the match by scores of 25-23, 25-17, 17-25 and 25-23.
 
McKendree trailed just one time in the third set, which came early in the contest. The Bearcats held a 10-9 lead when they scored four of five points to extend the margin to 14-10. After a Milwaukee Engineering score, freshman outside hitter Dustin Borenstein (Highland Park, IL/Highland Park) put down back-to-back kills to help McKendree out to a five-point advantage. The Bearcats were able to slowly increase their lead and pull away to take the set.
 
In the fourth set, McKendree held a 19-17 advantage before the Raiders used a 5-1 run to take the lead for good at 22-20. The Bearcats fought off two match points before Milwaukee Engineering was able to finish off the contest.
 
McKendree then squared off with Dominican for the second time in as many days. Once again the Bearcats dropped the first two sets before battling past the Stars in the third set. Dominican then took control in the fourth set to close out the Bearcats' weekend. The Stars won by scores of 25-19, 25-14, 25-27 and 25-16.
 
After falling in the first two sets, McKendree battled back and forth against Dominican in the third set. Patterson collected two big attacks in the late stages of the set to help the Bearcats stay close, then served up an ace to push McKendree to a 26-25 lead. Freshman outside hitter Andrew Schnittker (Arlington Heights, IL/Buffalo Grove) finished off the contest with a kill off a pass from MacLean to help the Bearcats pull within a set.
 
However, Dominican pulled away in the middle stages of set four with a 6-1 run to build a 15-8 advantage. McKendree got as close as 17-13 thanks to a kill from Patterson, but the Stars eventually stretched their lead to as many as 10 points to closing out the match.